Nowadays, the speed of delivery matters more than ever, as customers expect efficient (ideally same-day) arrival of their purchases. Thus, retailers often face the challenge of having a streamlined same-day or even same-hour service. The solution is fairly simple, find a reliable courier partner that knows how to do their job on time.
One such company is Stuart, and it succeeds due to the optimisation of its final-mile logistics. Let’s have a close look at why and how it was done.
Why the Final Mile Matters?
The last mile is the most unpredictable yet crucial stage of the delivery chain in retail. In the UK, where online shopping has surged post-pandemic, consumers now expect same-day fulfilment, live tracking, and flexible slots as standard (not a privilege). Moreover, 70% of UK shoppers say that fast arrival of their orders influences whether they’ll buy from the retailer again.
Thus, timely and top-quality last-mile shipping is a must to build customer loyalty and ensure that they will be satisfied with the service. Otherwise, retailers can experience negative reviews, lost revenue, and client loss.
How Can UK Businesses Optimise the Final Mile for Faster Deliveries?
Common Friction Points in UK Last-Mile Delivery
Before working on optimising the service, it is worth finding those failing points that do not allow the system to perform prompt order fulfilments. Yes, sometimes cutting-edge tech is not enough, and logistics challenges persist. Some of the possible causes of that include:
- Failed deliveries and missed time slots, often because of inaccurate addresses or rigid scheduling;
- Lack of tracking visibility, leaving customers without transparency about their order and clarity about when to expect the courier;
- Poor communication with clients about the approximate schedule of delivery;
- Inflexible shipping options that do not fit into busy lifestyles or last-minute changes.
Each of these challenges can lead to higher costs, negative reviews, and loss of buyers.
Practical Tips to Reduce Delays
The most critical change to make if the business suffers from an unoptimised logistical operation is choosing the right tools and shipping partner. Here is what businesses can do even if their current operational expenses are rising:
- integrate your e-commerce platform with a smart delivery partner;
- enable real-time tracking and proactive notifications;
- offer flexible shipping windows and rescheduling options;
- use address validation and geolocation tools;
- centralise data to analyse performance, benefits, and drawbacks.
Those tips might look simple and obvious, but they are capable of transforming the course of things related to last-mile delivery matters and creating a smoother customer experience for buyers.
How Does Stuart Bring These Tips to Life?
The company has undertaken significant improvement work to make sure that its partners can benefit from a fast, scalable, and tech-driven solution for last-mile logistics. Stuart integrates with over 75 e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. As a result, retailers do not need to do additional setup, which often can be the cause of delay.
Its real-time tracking dashboard and branded notifications keep customers informed through all the order fulfilment stages. As a result, retailers get fewer calls with requests to locate their parcels and boost satisfaction. The company has also worked on smart routing and dynamic slot allocation, offering flexibility even during peak periods.
It also has one of the largest fleets in big cities like London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, which allows the company to reduce turnaround and even offer one-hour delivery windows.
The Business Impact
The best part of the last-mile delivery optimisation is the measurable result. Businesses that do it see higher success rates, fewer failed drops, and improved customer satisfaction scores.
That is not even mentioning the lower operating costs that are possible after optimisation. Many also report that brands benefit from increased repeat purchases and stronger customer loyalty, proving that efficient logistics can be one of the essential business growth factors.
Delivery optimisation is one of the key actions that should be taken by every retailer or e-commerce platform that seeks customer loyalty and business growth.
It might be challenging, so it is best to leave the difficult part for professionals and simply find a courier service that already has all its logistics operations optimised and uses advanced tech for fast and timely order fulfilment.
